Leonardo Trattoria

Fantastic homemade pastas. The service was friendly and quick. We will definitely return. Yummy sangria too!

We visited this restaurant twice now. The first time we were not impressed with the food at all as it was very bland and offered no taste whatsoever, however, I’m a firm believer that everyone deserves a second chance. We decided to visit again about a week ago and sadly, it was lacking taste once again. The calamari tastes as if it has been fried in grease that was used all day to fry other foods. Two of our friends ordered pizza’s which they said tasted like something out of a jar. I had the specialty lump crabmeat pasta, which had little to no crabmeat at all, not to mention if there had not been a jar of dried red pepper flakes on the table, I would have been eating a completely unseasoned plate of just pasta! Sorry, but I don’t see us visiting again as there are too many other Italian restaurants in NOLA that outshine this place by far. For the restaurant’s sake, I hope they start recognizing that their food lacks any pizazz.

Still a true Gem in NOLA Cuisine.
It never ceases to astound me the consistent quality of food,
and great service I receive at Leonardo Trattoria.
This is, in my opinion, a MUST DINE experience in New Orleans.
If you are a local, or a tourist, you will never be disappointed.
Great food, great atmosphere, great location.
There is nothing not to like about this place.
From the Calamari, to the Carbonarra, everything is prepared with the skill
and precision befitting a restaurant with only the most stringent standards.
And NOW.
For Mardi Gras, they have a Groupon, which if you are in the area as a tourist, or a local, you MUST buy.
Trust me, from the time you walk in the door hungry, to the time you walk out the door, satisfied, and amazed.
This is one restaurant which will never disappoint, and always aims to please.
The manager, Chris, runs an establishment, which manages to be not only top notch, but still a fun place to eat.
And Paige, is by far, one of the most friendly, helpful, charming faces in the New Orleans culinary world.
Long Story Short,
Go there, go there, go there.
You will thank me, and I hope that you do.
Your Big Easy Daddy,
Jim

I hadn’t been to this place in several years and I had heard that the food had improved a great deal. I had heard that the chef had gone off to Italy and learned some great new stuff so I that was a compelling thing to me so I decided to give it another try before Wednesday on the Square. I had liked the lasagna here «ok» the last time I had eaten here so I decided to try that again to test the «improvements.»
When I walked in service seemed disorganized and inexperienced. When I got my food I thought it looked «ok» but I’ve definitely seen better looking lasagna and when I tasted it the first thing that came into my mind was that the sauce on it tasted like a Chef Boyardee canned pasta! I was also in sticker shock when just my lasagna and one Abita Amber cost $ 25.24 and I didn’t even get a salad or bread or anything else along with my entrée like EVERY other Italian place does with their entrees. For that price their are a whole LOT of other NICE restaurants I could have had a multi-​course meal at for around the same price.
Maybe they have other items that are really good on the menu that I would like better and they did have some interesting looking pizzas but at the prices they charge there are just WAY too many other restaurants that are much nicer that I like a whole lot better.

On our first visit here, the wait staff could have been more cheerful and attentive, but the food more than made up for it. We ate at Leonardo’s again last night, and the food was just as delicious while service had improved. It’s AUTHENTIC Italian, meaning the pizzas may not have the traditional tomato sauce and the pasta takes a little longer because it actually really is homemade. We ordered the Fusilli al Pesto, and by the taste and texture, it was obvious that the dish was prepared entirely fresh.
If you want traditional American pizza, go somewhere else, but from my view Leonardo’s has the BEST PIZZA in this city. I’ve been on a hunt for good pizza over the past few years in NOLA and have been disappointed again and again by what I’ve found. Leonardo’s has several appealing combinations, but the the Norma is my favorite… fresh mozzarella, eggplant, basil, ricotta salata, and a lighter and slightly sweet tomato sauce. I’m actually slightly drooling just thinking about it even though I should be having breakfast.
I never write reviews despite always reading them before I visit a restaurant… seriously, give this place a chance! Look past the small crowd and potentially sub-​par service to some seriously satisfying and authentic Italian.

***ZERO STARS!!!***
My son and I landed in New Orleans at around 8 pm last Tuesday, July 10. Our flight out of LAX was delayed 3 hours. And my sister who was in town for business was up at 3:30 am and was on-​location in Mississippi that day had just driven back. We were all tired and hungry, but very patient since we just got to New Orleans. We were actually quite excited to explore the city, starting with getting dinner.
My son is 6, and he wanted spaghetti with meatballs. So naturally my sister and I went on Unilocal and Google in search for the best spaghetti in town. We found Leonardo Trattoria’s website. As we read «homemade» pasta and cannolis, we happily decided on the place.
The place looks cozy and inviting, though the lack of bustling atmosphere and patrons eating inside is alarming (tell tale sign that something’s wrong with the place). There was one party outside, and another inside. Other than that, the place looked pretty deserted at 8:30 pm. The windows has their specialties written on them — different pastas, pizzas, desserts, etc. We were getting really hungry at this point, so we went inside. The 2 waitresses sitting at the bar attended to us together (odd, because there’s only 3 of us). They presented us with the menus. Immediately, we noticed they only had appetizers, salads, and pizzas on the menu. I asked the older waitress «Where is your pasta menu…»
Here’s where my sister and I got really ticked off.
Younger waitress (tan and petite) laughs condescendingly, as if we were loons for asking about their pasta, saying «I don’t know why they ask about the pasta. They’re not the first ones.» DUH! YOU ONLY BOAST ABOUT IT ON YOUR WEBSITE AND WINDOWS!!! I wanted to slap her. The older waitress had more sense to explain the situation as apologetically as she possibly could. Their chef is in Italy. First of all, don’t just have one chef that can prepare all the items on the menu. When that chef leaves, that’s a sure death for the restaurant. From how she worded it, the chef was gone for more than a week. Another Unilocal review says chef Leo was the partner and left the business for Italy months ago! Second, if you’re not going to have items on the menu, have the sign that says so. Its better to let people know you don’t have certain items ahead of time than having angry diners getting CRAPTASTIC service!
My sister walks out to peak at the restaurant next door. But she didn’t like it. I stayed behind with my son and looked over the menu. So we settled on pizza and salad. They were both good I guess. Though I didn’t see why a spinach salad with very little ingredients other than a bunch of raw leaves would take forever to prepare — it came after the pizza. And the pizza was watery — gives me the impression the dough was frozen and not freshly made. The bottom was crispy, but became soggy because of all the water.
After we were done eating, the younger waitress comes over and SASSED us as she asked something along the lines of «do you want to pay now?» Did she imply we have no money or that we should leave?! Or that we cannot pay?! My sister and I are both college grads with respectable jobs. She need not know that but she should have at least showed a bit more courtesy and respect. NO ETIQUETTE whatsoever. Was this girl even trained on how to serve and cater to guests?! Was she raised by a pack of wolves? Or raised along the swamp? Damn. I know New Orleans has its shady origins. But I thought it would have been a tad bit more civilized, not to mention more pleasant, now in the year 2012.
We asked if she can offer us the dessert menu instead. The older waitress comes over and produced an overly wrinkled up piece of note paper and read off the night’s dessert menu. Minutes after we ordered tiramisu, she came back and said they ran out of tiramisu. I suppose if they spent less time at the bar, they’d know off the top their heads what they don’t have that evening. But okay, she convinced us to try some calzone (since she insists its great and that she and the younger waitress just enjoyed it at the bar — in front of everyone to see). This too took way too long for a dessert. Mind you, at this point they were only serving one other table outside aside from ours. We liked the first few bites, but after that, it was just way too sweet and inedible. We left more than half of it on the table.
Don’t take my word seriously if I’m from out-​of-​town and this is a review on a restaurant indigenous to New Orleans. But this is on Italian cuisine — they’re everywhere and everyone has tried it many times in their lifetime.
MESSAGE TO OWNER: If you’re not going to have a competent chef in place during your Executive chef’s absence, close the restaurant until s/​he returns. And I strongly encourage you to retrain your staff. Remember: no review is better than BAD review!!!

The food is great. I have eaten here several times and each dish was excellent. The price is comparable to other downtown places and you get a large portion. The service has not been great. The last time the server was slow. Then she lost the credit card? It was cancelled immediately via cell phone but eventually they called and said they found the credit card we could go pick it up. A little mess up and we waited a long while there while they searched. Difficult to try to drive back for the card the next week. They need to work on service the food was good enough to return but I am certain not to use a credit card there again.

Not quite sure why everyone is bitching about this place. Sure, the waitstaff could be a bit more attentive and professional, but the food was truly solid.
Its rare that when you order a veal parm you get a freshly pounded lamb chop with the bone-​in (except for at Bond 45 in NYC and its $ 55). That ALONE is a big win in my book and the price was fair as well, I think it was like $ 20-​something. Calamari was fresh and competent as well.

I guess it’s hit or miss here, because most of the reviews are either really good or really bad. Maybe I should go back and try it another time, but after the experience I had last night I’m a little apprehensive.
First of all, as we walked up to the restaurant someone was pressure washing the walkway and outdoor furniture. We thought it might be closed. Why would you be doing that kind of cleaning/​maintenance during business hours? Finally the gentleman looked up and reluctantly told us the restaurant was open. We stepped over the cords and hoses, and we walked in.
Aesthetically, it gives a feel you would expect from an Italian restaurant. In fact, I thought it was well decorated. I’m sorry, though, I didn’t think the mobster movies on every television was cute. At least not for a place that charges what this place does. I think they need to decide what they want to be: a) upscale restaurant serving authentic Sicilian dishes, or b) middle of the road restaurant with a fun atmosphere serving authentic, yet reasonably priced dishes. I’m not sure what they were trying to accomplish by playing magic 101.9, but all it did was confuse the ambiance. Nothing says «Italian restaurant» like Bryan Adams.
On to the food. We ordered three appetizers. Two different bruschettas and calamari. I didn’t have any of the calamari, so I can’t comment on it. I did have both bruschettas, however. They were pretty good. I especially enjoyed the Bruschetta Pomodoro. The tomatoes were very fresh and were seasoned with fresh basil. I didn’t care for the second, the Bruschetta Leonardo, but everyone else did. So I’m chalking that up to personal taste.
Our food came out at a good time. Just enough time after we finished our appetizers. The reviews from our table of 8 were mixed. My dish was just ok. I ordered the Fusilli al Pesto. The pasta itself was very good. It was obviously fresh, and it was cooked perfectly. The pesto sauce, though, was weak. It didn’t have the flavor I was looking for. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t excellent. It certainly wasn’t worth $ 16. One of my friends ordered Linguine Cozze, and his pasta was very undercooked. So undercooked that he couldn’t eat it, and it was taken off the bill. My husband had a pizza, which he enjoyed very much. Further down the table, another friend ordered the fillet. It was HUGE. Definitely more than 9 oz. However, she requested it cooked medium rare and it was clearly undercooked. No one else had any issues as far as I know. One other person simply didn’t care for their dish (don’t remember what she had), but the friend with the undercooked linguine ate it with no complaints.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for dessert (we had tickets to see the music of Led Zeppelin performed by the LPO — excellent, by the way!), which is really a shame because I heard great things about the gelato.
Overall, the experience wasn’t horrible. The bottom line for me was that the food wasn’t worth the price. I’ll put aside confused atmosphere for good food, but Leonardo Trattoria didn’t meet that qualifier for me.

Gotta give some love to Leonardo.
Food is made in house, everything seems fresh and made with care. Pasta was delicious, gelatos were awesome and the prices were more than reasonable for a large amount of food.
Many people are complaining about the ambience. The truth is that this place has a very Sicilian feel. The fact that it translates to a weird mobster environment is something that may not be the best for a romantic date but it does give the place a very cool vibe.
Service was very good, a little to «pushy» but nothing to complain about. Our waitress was dressed very informally, but I think that is the whole point of the place.
In all, good food, nice service and a weird but cool vibe.

I wish there were different categories for food and the rest of it. Let’s start with the positive. The food. What we had was absolutely spectacular. The veal was so tender and absolutely tasty. Seasoning was perfect. My wife had an interesting past dish that was unlike anything I had had before, and was delicious. It is clear that the pastas are made fresh, much like the breads and everything else. I kid you not. If you dressed up the place, trained the staff, etc, these dishes could be served at the much more prestigious next door neighbor. Prices are fair, and its great food.
The bad news is the ambiance sucks. From the beginning, I started thinking that Gordon Ramsey really needs to do kitchen nightmares here. It’s just bad. Waitresses are dressed too casual. They’re nice and friendly, but when you ask for opinions on dishes, a proper server should be able to discuss. It would take so little to make the service great. One real positive on this end (which made me bump to 4 stars) was when we asked about wines and the waitress got us two taste samples. Nice touch.
Then there are the flat screen tvs. 11 of them by my count. Not at the bar mind you, but everywhere in the restaurant. I love «A History of Violence» as much as the next cinefile, but do you really want to watch some of those scenes (or Resevoir Dogs, Godfather, etc) while you are trying to eat a romantic dinner. Thank god the sound was off, but it would have been nice to have had some kind of background music.
Lastly, the place was pretty slow on a Sunday night, but there were several tables. Towards the end of the meal, some Jersey Shore juicehead wanna be comes in there and while swearing loudly, starts ordering shots. He may have been associated with the place as his girlfriend went behind the bar and started mixing things, as he yells at her. It was unpleasant, and really, should not have happened. There really needs to be a floor manager to handle these kinds of situations. But no one said anything. And this guy (and entorage) was so loud, drunk and obnoxious that it was difficult to enjoy the meal.
This place needs to decide what kind of place it wants to be. If it wants to be Jersey Shore’s version of Razoo, it can do that. Its a great location, and the staff seems to like that kind of thing. If it wants to do great food and fine dining, it can do that too. The food is spectacular. Really. But when I eat good food, I want to be able to enjoy it.
Changed my mind… back to 3 stars again. It needs a makeover and it needs a proper manager. Gordon Ramsey could make it a 5 star place… and I am being serious. The food was THAT good. The rest of it is THAT bad, but would be so easy to fix. Ahhh screw it, I am generous. 4 stars.

Walked an extra eight blocks for authentic sicilian food and have never been so disappointed. Server was so disengaged and worried about playing with her hair that we felt like a bother. Forgot half our order and walked away mid sentence. Food didn’t make up for bad service either. Don’t waste your time or money here.

DO NOT EAT HERE!
I took advantage of a TravelZoo deal that offered a «full buffet» meal, unlimited «specialty drinks» plus «grandstand» access to watch parades on the street outside. All the food in our «buffet «was cheap and simple (pasta w/​tomato sauce, no meat; thick chunks of french bread with a bit of cheese drizzled on top; hardened, day-​old «lasagna» that couldn’t even be sliced; no dessert offered as advertised). The one «specialty» drink offered was a Kool Aid version of a Hurricane. Additionally, they offered no soft drinks and water was $ 1 per glass.
The «buffet» was located upstairs, in a dark, unfinished «attic» space, where a flapping tarp blew aside to reveal piles of trash and broken chairs. The «music» blaring on the sound system was uncensored rap — keep in mind the average age was about 40, with lots of young kids present. Several parents complained, to no avail.
And even worse than the food and the drinks, the owner! He was rude, condescending, and dismissive.
In summary, there is simply NO reason to spend your money here!
*I only gave it 1 star because that field is required. It deserves NO stars.*

DO NOT EAT HERE!
We went here when they offered a buffet and grandstand package for Mardi Gras. And it was a big rip off. The food was AWFUL. They served really crappy food — as in Cici’s buffet was even better. Even the hurricane which you have to pay extra for tasted like cool aid.
The establishment obviously offered the package as a tourist trap. DO NOT FALL FOR IT!

I am giving this five stars because I think it deserves an overall ratings boost. We ended up here on accident, when a sudden rainstorm had us running for cover. We were welcomed generously by the bartender/​waiter and treated to a fun surprise meal. The food is very authentically Sicilian. We enjoyed the Swordfish Carpaccio and the Pizza Leonardo. We had never had pistacho nuts on a pizza and it was delicious. I had a Prosecco with it and it was the perfect touch. We were in olive oil heaven.
No, it’s not an immaculate place. It has very comfortable chairs though and feels very authentic.
We did find it humorous that they played Mafia movies of all sorts on TV screens around the place. Are they proud or just have a great sense of humor?

No stars, this place sucks! I was looking for a place to get a couple of beers and just a little something to eat before heading to the square for music and fun… I should have ate at the square!
The ambiance was nice and it was cool to have all the mobster movies playing «I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!» I love that shit!!! But the pizza suck! The tomato sauce was watery and just no flavor. The sausage was like rubber, yuck! No worries about me going back.

IF I could give it 2.5 stars, I would. I had a Groupon offer of $ 30 for $ 60 worth of food and drinks, so me and my friend decided to give it a try as it also advertises that they make fresh pasta from scratch every morning. We were eager to test it’s validity.
Nice location and ambiance but it did sit next to a couple of other restaurants that were relatively busy compared to theirs as they only had one table with patrons when me and my friend walked in.
They have a huge wine selection, which is not that bad. We ordered the swordfish carpacio which was very good, but depending on individual opinion, I could see someone complaining that the flavor might be too overpowering (capers, olives, and red onions sprinkled on top of strong acidic flavors).
I order a fettucine with diver scallop, sundried tomatoes, and a pesto cream sauce. My friend ordered the linguine with mussels in a garlic wine sauce.
The pasta itself was good, but still couldn’t tell if they were truly made from scratch this morning due to the fact that both dishes were sitting in heavy sauce. Even with the heavy sauce, the flavors of both dishes didnt come through until me and my friend sprinkled a generous amount of salt on top. I was thoroughly convinced that the chef forgot to season the dish with salt.
The waiter we had was very cool and attentive, so that was a plus.
I would give it another shot, but would try the pizza next time as the pastas weren’t that special or impressive.

Eric and I were somewhat apprehensive to come here with all the poor reviews but it ended up being quite great. We had the charcuterie plate which came with a few types of meat, olives and fresh mozzarella. It was all really good.
The carbonara was pretty decent and the eggplant pizza was amazing… the pieces of eggplant just melted in your mouth! Service was great and the pours of wine were very generous.

Bad food in a city full of great food. We were starving and our travel friend forced us in here. By the time I read the Unilocal reviews it was too late. This food was nasty and over priced.
Avoid if you can!

I’m not sure what I expected out this place but the food was a little underwhelming. The extreme amount of Italian flair in the décor had me thinking this was going to be the best Italian food I had in my life so maybe it’s unfair of me to judge the food going in with such high expectations.
The bruscetta appetizer was amazing and everything else was good. No complaints, but nothing really stood out to me.
The coolest thing about the place is that the walls are literally lined with flat-​screen TVs and every TV is showing a classic mobster movie such as the Godfather or the Untouchables. I like the idea, as gimmicky as it sounds.
Plus, I swear there were a few wise-​guys hanging out in there while I was eating…